Tag: Rick Carlisle

Grateful Dead honor Bill Walton at latest performance

Another Walton tribute.

The late former UCLA Bruin Bill Walton’s relationship with the Grateful Dead has been well-documented for over 50 years.

A lifelong “Deadhead,” Walton introduced fellow teammates to the band, notably former Celtics teammate and current Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle. In his lifetime, Walton was believed to have attended north of 1,000 Grateful Dead concerts, a testament to his fandom and commitment to the band.

This week, during their performance at the Sphere in Las Vegas, the Grateful Dead honored their former fan. Displaying his name and number 32 in tie-dye, the Grateful Dead paid their respects to their larger-than-life fan, Walton. As the concert ended, the Grateful Dead put up a picture of Walton wearing a Grateful Dead shirt, beaming with joy.

One of their most famous fans, Walton’s legacy in the NBA, in broadcasting, and his charity work often links back to his “peace and love” attitude and Grateful Dead fandom.

Rick Carlisle on how Bill Walton got him backstage at a Grateful Dead concert for a date

That date he took is now his wife, one of many such moments Bill changed other people’s lives.

Hall of Fame Boston Celtics center Bill Walton was a force of nature in life, and his recent passing has brought back many moments from the Celtics champ’s charmed life on and off the court — rest in peace.

Most Boston fans are familiar with the lore around him bringing his 1986 Celtics title squad teammates to see the Grateful Dead (excepting Danny Ainge, who was boring), and evidently the music caught on with a few teammates in particular. One of them was Rick Carlisle, today’s head coach of the Indiana Pacers, who shared how that love for the Dead had Walton help get him backstage for a show on his first date with his now-wife.

It’s a touching anecdote that there are countless of in the wake of a truly great man’s life; check it out for yourself in this clip put together by our friends over at CLNS Media.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Rick Carlisle on Bill Walton and 1986 Boston Celtics practices

Carlisle took some time to share a story of his time practicing with Walton for Boston in 1986.

While there was plenty for the Boston Celtics and their fans to celebrate in their Game 4 win over the Indiana Pacers on this past (May 27) Monday night at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse, some very tough news breaking a few hours before tipoff made the night a somber one for many.

With news of the death of Hall of Fame Boston big man Bill Walton breaking, former Celtics teammates like Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle were blindsided and clearly impacted by the loss. Carlisle took some time to share a story of his time practicing with Walton for Boston in 1986, the year of their sole title won together.

The folks over at CLNS Media captured it for us to reflect on while we pay our respects to the life and career of this truly larger-than-life figure in the wider Celtics community. Rest in peace, Bill.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=590969556]

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle recalls touching story about Bill Walton

Bill was one of a kind.

As the basketball community mourns the loss of UCLA Bruins legend Bill Walton, a flood of admiration and stories have emerged.

This week, Indiana Pacers head coach and Celtic teammate of Walton, Rick Carlisle, recalled a story of how the Grateful Dead super fan Walton helped him prepare for his first date in 1987.

“Our first date was to a Dead show in D.C., and I called Bill and said, ‘Look, Bill, I got a date with a girl who’s pretty cool. I’d love to go to the Dead show. I don’t have any tickets. Could you help?'”

Carlisle continued with a smile, “He said, ‘Go to the back door and ask for Dennis McElhaney. Tell him you’re Rick Carlisle from the Boston Celtics, and everything will be just fine.”

Walton was correct. Carlisle’s first date was with his future wife, Donna Nobile, and another example of how the iconic UCLA Bruin touched and improved the lives of everyone he met.

Everything we know about the Giannis Antetokounmpo game ball drama, the silliest sports saga of the year

This was all such a massive misunderstanding.

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a career-high 64 points during a victory over the Indiana Pacers, then chaos ensued.

According to league insider Chris Haynes, the Pacers “took the game ball away” after the performance from the two-time MVP. Antetokounmpo then “took off” toward the Pacers locker room to try to retrieve the ball back from the franchise he had just defeated.

But there is more to the story and plenty to unpack with this situation.

So we did our best to gather all the information and put that together in a way that will make some sense.

Based on the reporting we have gathered, here is everything we know:

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle in awe of Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama: ‘New type of player completely’

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle had some high praise for San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama.

The San Antonio Spurs suffered a brutal loss to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night, falling 152-111. It was a crushing defeat, marking the Spurs’ second loss in a row following two straight wins over the Phoenix Suns. And while no one on the Spurs was particularly impressive, Victor Wembanyama’s performance stood out, but not in the usual way.

Wembanyama managed to put up 13 points, 10 rebounds, one steal, and two blocks, but he shot just 3-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-5 from distance. The Pacers managed to slow down Wembanyama through physicality, but they still respect who he is as a player.

Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle has some very high praise for the Spurs rookie.

Celtics’ Rick Carlisle, Larry Bird on the last tilt for the Hick From French Lick

Bird was still stepping onto the court behind closed doors as recently as the year 2000.

Fans of Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Larry Bird typically know quite a bit about The Hick From French Lick, but not all of them can tell you about the last time Larry Legend laced ’em up and took the court to play organized basketball. But fellow Celtics alum and Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle does, and he told Boston Dot Com’s Chad Finn all about it.

Evidently, that tilt of sorts took place in the Pacers’ practice facility in 2000 in a four-on-four friendly contest, which went to the first team to hit 2 of 3 shots in a halfcourt setting, perhaps to keep those storied legs from getting too tired out.

“This is a story no one has ever heard, but the last time Larry played basketball was, I believe, the 2000 season,” began Carlisle.

On this day: Boston sees the Grateful Dead in concert; Shaw, Hunter debut

On this day, several Boston Celtics accompanied resident Deadhead and Celtics center Bill Walton to see the Grateful Dead in concert in 1985.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, several members of the storied franchise went to see the Grateful Dead in concert in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1985. Not all of the Celtics went, but after recent arrival Bill Walton had managed to pique the interest of a few of his teammates, a significant portion of the team decided to attend the concert.

A few days ahead of the planned concert, Hall of Fame teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale had noticed some hippie-ish looking people wearing funky clothes arriving in town and made the connection it must have something to do with their hippie-ish teammate.

Walton had himself previously met the band after sticking out like a sore thumb as a 7-footer at one of their concerts, catching the eye of drummer Mickey Hart, who called him on stage after learning who he was.

On this day: Boston Celtics Tony Allen, Eric Williams, Al Jefferson debut

On this day, former Boston Celtics Tony Allen, Eric Williams, and Al Jefferson made their debuts for the team.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, champion shooting guard Tony Allen played his first game for the team in a 98-95 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2004.

The former Oklahoma State Cowboy — taken by the Celtics with the 25th pick of that summer’s draft — didn’t have the most spectacular outing in his first appearance in green and white. However, the performance wasn’t indicative of his potential, thankfully. Allen put up 2 points on a single shot attempt and grabbed as many rebounds in his inaugural performance against the 76ers.

He was on the floor for just inside six minutes, with a single turnover and one personal foul.

On this day: Billups, Mercer, Thomas, Carlisle, Palazzi, Guarilia debut; Edwards born

On this day, former Celtics Chauncey Billups, Ron Mercer, John Thomas, and Rick Carlisle made their debut for Boston, and Blue Edwards was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, point guard Chauncey Billups played his first game for the team. The Colorado product would later be traded in his rookie season after being selected by the Celtics with the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft, but it wasn’t because of how he performed the first time he took the floor as a pro.

Billups put up a very healthy 15 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and two steals in his inaugural performance, shooting a sizzling 6-of-12 from the field, a much less sizzling 1-of-4 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe.

That he did that in just under 17 minutes of game time off the bench makes it even more of a head-scratcher team president Rick Pitino would later trade the rookie scorer.